System and methods for providing ancillary services in a delivery system using icons

ABSTRACT

A method and system for providing ancillary services consistent with the invention includes placing an icon on an item, the icon corresponding to an ancillary service. Once the icon is placed on the item, the item is sent through a delivery system to a first address plant. Upon receiving an indication that the item cannot be delivered to a recipient at a first address, the ancillary service corresponding to the icon on the item is performed.

RELATED APPLICATION

Under provisions of 35 U.S.C. §119(e), the Applicants claims the benefitof U.S. provisional application No. 60/231,307, filed Sep. 8, 2000,which is incorporated herein by reference.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of providing ancillaryservices. More particularly, the present invention, in various specificembodiments, involves methods and systems directed to providingancillary services in a delivery system in a simplified manner,communicating simplified instructions.

2. Background

The need to efficiently provide ancillary services in a delivery systemhas become a common need for many organizations. More specifically,efficiently providing recycling services, undeliverable item services,and computerized forwarding services has become a critical service formany delivery system operators. This is because in an increasinglycompetitive environment, meeting and exceeding the expectations of thosewho receive a service is essential for a service provider.

One solution to the ancillary services problem is for the sender ordelivery system operator to print words comprising a phrase requestingan ancillary service on an item. For example, the sender or deliverysystem operator can use a three word phrase such as “forwarding servicerequested” or “return service requested”. Based on the phrase or,phrases, the delivery system operator can provide an ancillaryforwarding service or return service involving a complex set ofprocedures. Description of procedures for performing these services,however, do not necessarily have intuitive meaning. The rules to achievethe ancillary service results are complicated in most instances, anddelivery system operators have difficulty correctly implementing them.Accordingly, efficiently providing ancillary services in a deliverysystem remains an elusive goal. Thus, there remains a need forefficiently providing ancillary services in a delivery system. Inaddition, there remains a need for efficiently providing ancillaryservices in a simplified manner, communicating simplified instructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the current invention, an ancillary services methodand system are provided that avoid the problems associated with priorart ancillary services systems as discussed herein above.

In one aspect, a method for providing ancillary services consistent withthe invention includes sending an item through a delivery system to afirst address plant, receiving an indication that the item cannot bedelivered to a recipient at a first address, determining if an iconcorresponding to an ancillary service is present on the item, andperforming the corresponding ancillary service if the item contains theicon.

Both the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription are exemplary and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings provide a further understanding of theinvention and, together with the detailed description, explain theprinciples of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a system for providing ancillaryservices consistent with the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a diagram of the general format of an icon consistent withthe present invention;

FIG. 2B is a diagram of a recycling icon consistent with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2C is a diagram of a NIXIE icon consistent with the presentinvention;

FIG. 2D is a diagram of a computerized forwarding service iconconsistent with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for providing ancillary servicesconsistent with the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a subroutine used in the method of FIG. 3 forperforming ancillary services corresponding to an icon placed on anitem.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made to various embodiments according to thisinvention, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings andwill be obvious from the description of the invention. In the drawings,the same reference numbers represent the same or similar elements in thedifferent drawings whenever possible.

Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment consistent with the present inventionprovides an ancillary services system 100 using icons. For example, asender 105 places an item 110 into a delivery system 130. Item 110contains address label 115 indicating a first address 150 of a recipient155 and a return address 107 indicating where to return item 110 ifnecessary. Item 110 is routed through delivery system 130. Deliverysystem 130 comprises a sender plant 125, a delivery path 135, a firstaddress plant 140, an alternative plant 145, and an alternativeprocessing point 165. Delivery path 135 comprises a plurality of plantssimilar to sender plant 125, first address plant 140 and alternativeplant 145. The plants within delivery path 135 contain, among otherthings, automated systems and sorting equipment and are designed toreceive and process a plurality of items. Delivery system 130 isconfigured to sense tracking indicia placed on item 110 as it passesthrough the elements of delivery system 130 directing the movement ofitem 110 through delivery system 130.

In addition to return address 107 and address label 115, item 110 alsocontains an icon 120 which is placed on item 110 by sender 105 anddescribes the ancillary service desired by sender 105. Generally, therules to achieve the ancillary service results are complicated anddelivery system operators have difficulty correctly implementing them.To simplify the provision of ancillary services, an icon system is usedin the present invention to communicate simplified instructions.

Referring to FIGS. 2A-2D, sample icons and their corresponding ancillaryservices will be described. FIG. 2A indicates the format of icon 120,containing an instruction section 205 and a procedure section 210.Instruction section 205 is the portion of icon 120 that comprises asymbol which indicates the particular ancillary service desired bysender 105. Procedure section 210 describes a set of procedures that areto be performed by the delivery system operator in the event theancillary service indicated by instruction section 205 is to beperformed. For example, a recycle instruction 215 may be placed ininstruction section 205 as shown in FIG. 2B. In the event the ancillaryservice indicated by recycle instruction 215 is to be performed, item110 would be treated as waste by the delivery system operator. In thecase of recycle instruction 215, procedure section 210 is blank asindicated by recycle procedure 220 because the procedures correspondingto recycle instruction 215 are inherent. FIG. 2C indicates a NIXIEinstruction 225 with its corresponding NIXIE procedure 230. As is wellknown to those skilled in the art, a NIXIE procedure is brieflydescribed as classifying an item that cannot be sorted or isundeliverable-as-addressed because of an incorrect, illegible, orinsufficient delivery address. NIXIE procedure 230 describes a set ofprocedures that are to be performed by the delivery system operator inthe event the NIXIE ancillary service indicated by NIXIE instruction 225is to be performed. Similarly, FIG. 2D indicates a computerizedforwarding service (CFS) instruction 235 with its corresponding CFSprocedure 240. CFS procedure 240 describes a set of procedures that areto be performed by the delivery system operator in the event the CFSancillary service indicated by CFS instruction 235 is to be performed.The significances of NIXIE instruction 225, CFS instruction 235, andtheir corresponding procedures will be discussed in greater detail belowwith respect to FIG. 4.

In the ancillary services process, item 110 is sent through deliverysystem 130 by sender 105 to first address plant 140. At first addressplant 140 a determination is made as to whether item 110 is deliverableto recipient 155 at address 150. If it is determined that item 110 isnot deliverable to recipient 155 at address 150, the ancillary serviceindicated on icon 120 is performed. Examples of such ancillary servicesare recycle service, NIXIE service, and CFS service, all of which willdescribed in greater detail below with respect to FIG. 4. Those skilledin the art, however, will appreciate that may other types of ancillaryservices may be performed within delivery system 130.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in anexemplary method 300 for providing ancillary services in delivery system130. The implementation of the stages of method 300 in accordance withan exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described ingreater detail with respect to FIG. 4.

Exemplary method 300 begins at starting block 305 and proceeds to stage310 where sender 105 decides which, if any, ancillary service is desiredfor item 110. The ancillary service may include recycle service, NIXIEservice, or CFS service. After sender 105 decides which, if any,ancillary service is desired for item 110 in stage 310, exemplarysubroutine 300 advances to stage 315 where sender 105 places icon 120corresponding to the desired ancillary service on item 110. Icon 120 isused to simplify the provisioning of ancillary services as an iconsystem can be used to represent and communicate simplified instructions.Sample icons are shown in FIGS. 2A through 2B as discussed above.

From stage 315 where sender 105 places icon 120 corresponding to thedesired ancillary service on item 110, exemplary subroutine 300continues to stage 320 where sender 105 labels item 110 with the name ofrecipient 155 and first address 150 which is the mail delivery addressof recipient 155. This is accomplished by placing address label 115 onitem 110 comprising the name of recipient 155 and first address 150.

Once sender 105 labels item 110 with recipient 155 and first address 150in stage 320, exemplary subroutine 300 proceeds to stage 325 where item110 is placed in delivery system 130. FIG. 1 shows sender 105 placingitem 110 into delivery system 130 at sender plant 125. However, item 110may be placed in sender plant 125 or any other plant within deliverysystem 130. Item 110 delivered through delivery system 130 may comprisea letter or any other type mailpiece, however, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that many other types of items may be delivery throughdelivery system 130.

After item 110 is placed in delivery system 130 in stage 325, exemplarysubroutine 300 advances to stage 330 where item 110 is routed in thedelivery system 130 toward first address 150. Delivery system 130comprises sender plant 125, delivery path 135, first address plant 140and alternative plant 145. Delivery path 135 comprises a plurality ofplants similar to sender plant 125, first address plant 140 andalternative plant 145. The plants within delivery system 130 maycontain, among other things, automated systems and sorting equipmentlocated at a plurality of locations. In executing their function, theplants comprising delivery system 130 process item 110 by checkingaddress label 115 placed on item 110. Item 110 is then routed to thenext most appropriate plant in delivery system 130. The appropriatenessof the next plant in delivery system 130 depends upon the presentlocation of item 110 in delivery system 130 and where item 110 isaddressed. Ultimately, item 110 is routed in delivery system 130 to theplant that serves the delivery address indicated on item 110, accordingto established procedures. Thus item 110 is routed from plant to plantwithin delivery system 130 wherein item 110 efficiently converge onfirst address plant 140, which is the plant that serves the deliveryaddress labeled on the item 110. Throughout this process, deliverysystem 130 tracks the progress of item 110 through delivery system 130.

From stage 330 where item 110 is routed in the delivery system 130toward first address 150, exemplary subroutine 300 continues to decisionblock 335 where it is determined if item 110 is at first address plant140. If it is determined that item 110 is not at first address plant 140at decision block 335, exemplary subroutine 300 advances to stage 330where item 110 is routed in the delivery system 130 toward first address150 and repeats the stages of exemplary subroutine 300 as describedabove. If at decision block 335 it is determined, however, that item 110is at first address plant 140, exemplary subroutine 300 advances todecision block 340 where it is determined if item 110 is deliverable.Item 110 may be un-deliverable due to an incorrect, illegible, orinsufficient delivery address. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat many other considerations may be taken into account in determiningif item 110 is deliverable. If it is determined that item 110 isdeliverable at decision block 340, exemplary subroutine 300 advances tostage 345 where item 110 is delivered. In delivering item 110, thedelivery system operator transfers item 110 from first address plant 140to first address 150. From stage 345 where item 110 is delivered,exemplary subroutine 300 continues to stage 355 where exemplary method300 ends.

If at decision block 340 it is determined, however, that item 110 is notdeliverable, exemplary subroutine 300 advances to subroutine 350 wherethe ancillary service corresponding to icon 120 placed on item 110 isperformed. Before the ancillary service corresponding to icon 120 placedon item 110 is performed, a plurality of items requiring ancillaryservices may be collected and sorted by the type of ancillary servicerequired. In this way, an ancillary service may be performed moreefficiently on a group rather than on an item-by-item basis. Forexample, if a plurality of items requiring the recycling ancillaryservice are collected, the recycling ancillary service can be performedon the group at one time. The stages of subroutine 350 are shown in FIG.4 and will be described in greater detail below. From subroutine 350where the ancillary service corresponding to icon 120 placed on item 110is performed, exemplary method 300 ends at stage 355.

Ancillary Service Corresponding to Icon is Performed

Turning now to FIG. 4, describing the exemplary subroutine 350 from FIG.3 in which the ancillary service corresponding to icon 120 placed onitem 110 is performed. Subroutine 350 begins at starting block 405 andadvances to decision block 410 where it is determined if item 110 ismarked with ancillary service icon 120. FIGS. 2A-2D, show sample iconswith their corresponding ancillary services. FIG. 2A indicates theformat of icon 120, containing instruction section 205 and proceduresection 210. Instruction section 205 is the portion of icon 120 thatcomprises a symbol which indicates the particular ancillary servicedesired by sender 105. Procedure section 210 describes a set ofprocedures that are to be performed by the delivery system operator inthe event the ancillary service indicated by instruction section 205 isto be performed.

If it is determined that item 110 is marked with ancillary service icon120 at decision block 410, exemplary subroutine 350 advances to stage420 where ancillary service icon 120 is read from item 110.Specifically, instruction section 205 is read by the delivery systemoperator. If at decision block 410 it is determined, however, that item110 is not marked with ancillary service icon 120, exemplary subroutine350 advances to stage 415 and returns to stage 355 of FIG. 3.

After ancillary service icon 120 is read from item 110 in stage 420,exemplary subroutine 350 advances to decision block 425 where it isdetermined if icon 120 is a recycle icon. If it is determined that icon120 is a recycle icon at decision block 425, exemplary subroutine 350advances to stage 430 where item 110 is recycled. Recycling item 110comprises treating item 110 as waste by the delivery system operator. Inthe case of recycle instruction 215, procedure section 210 is blank asindicated by recycle procedure 220 because the procedures correspondingto recycle instruction 215 are inherent. From stage 430 where item 110is recycled, exemplary subroutine 350 advances to stage 415 and returnsto stage 355 of FIG. 3. If at decision block 425 it is determined,however, that icon 120 is not a recycle icon, exemplary subroutine 350advances to decision block 435 where it is determined if icon 120 is aNIXIE icon.

At decision block 435, if it is determined that icon 120 is a NIXIEicon, exemplary subroutine 350 advances to stage 440 where NIXIEprocessing is performed on item 110. NIXIE is a classification given toan item 110 that cannot be sorted or is undeliverable-as-addressedbecause of an incorrect, illegible, or insufficient delivery address.When item 110 is undeliverable-as-addressed, address correction service(re-label with a correct address) or return service (return item to thesender) may be performed. In this case, a NIXIE operator specialized inthe handling of such items is required. If item 110 requires returnservice, return address 107 on item 110 is read and item 110 is sent toreturn address 107 accordingly. Return address 107 is an element of item110 that is usually placed in the upper left corner of item 110 toindicate the address of sender 105. This address indicates where sender105 wants item 110 returned if it is undeliverable. In addition returnaddress 107 may indicate where sender 105 will receive a bill for anyfees due for the return of item 110. When item 110 requires addresscorrection service, a NIXIE operator obtains the proper address ofrecipient 155 or the reason for non-delivery. While NIXIE processing maycomprise address correction service or return service, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that may other types of NIXIE processing may beperformed.

From stage 440 where NIXIE processing is performed on item 110,exemplary subroutine 350 advances to stage 415 and returns to stage 355of FIG. 3. If at decision block 435 it is determined, however, that icon120 is not a NIXIE icon, exemplary subroutine 350 advances to decisionblock 445 where it is determined if icon 120 a computerized forwardingservice icon.

At decision block 445, if it is determined that icon 120 is acomputerized forwarding service icon 120, exemplary subroutine 350advances to stage 450 where computerized forwarding service is performedon item 110. Computerized forwarding service is a centralized,computerized address label-generating operation that forwardsundeliverable-as-addressed items to recipients. In this case, recipient155 pre-registers an alternative address 160 of recipient 155 with thedelivery system operator in order to have all items forwarded toalternative address 160. For example, when recipient 155 moves andwishes to have items sent to alternative address 160, recipient 155notifies the delivery system operator of alternative address 160. Oncethe delivery system operator is notified of alternative address 160, allitems sent to first address 150 are detected by the delivery system,relabeled, and then forwarded to alternative address 160. In theaforementioned computerized forwarding service, items are forwarded onlyfor a specific period of time. The delivery system operator expectsrecipient 155 to contact each and every sender who recipient 155 mayexpect to receive an item and notify the possible senders of the addresschange of recipient 155. After the computerized forwarding service timeperiod is complete, the delivery system operator will cease forwardingitems to recipient 155 and will return to the sender 105 all items sentto first address 150.

From stage 450 where computerized forwarding service is performed onitem 110, exemplary subroutine 350 advances to stage 415 and returns tostage 355 of FIG. 3. If at decision block 455 it is determined, however,that icon 120 is not a computerized forwarding service icon 120,exemplary subroutine 350 advances to decision block 455 where it isdetermined if icon 120 indicates an alternative processing point 165.

At decision block 455, if it is determined that icon 120 indicatesalternative processing point 165, exemplary subroutine 350 advances tostage 460 where item 110 is sent to alternative processing point 165.Item 110 may remain at alternative processing point 165 or may beprocessed at an item recovery section of alternative processing point165. Item 110 may be recovered by sender 105 or recipient 155 upon thecompletion of a tracer. A tracer is a form completed by sender 105 orrecipient 155 to locate delayed or undelivered items. While itemrecovery may occur at alternative processing point 165, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that may other types of processing may beperformed at alternative processing point 165. From stage 460 where item110 is sent to alternative processing point 165, exemplary subroutine350 advances to stage 415 and returns to stage 355 of FIG. 3. If atdecision block 445 it is determined, however, that icon 120 does notindicate an alternative processing point 165, exemplary subroutine 350advances to stage 465 where no ancillary service is performed on item110. Once it is determined that no ancillary service is to be performedon item 110 in stage 465, exemplary subroutine 350 proceeds to stage 415and returns to stage 355 of FIG. 3.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the presentinvention provides ancillary services in a delivery system using icons.Still, it should be understood that the foregoing relates only to theexemplary embodiments of the present invention, and that numerouschanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the following claims.

1. A method for providing ancillary services, comprising: receiving, bysorting equipment at a first address plant, an item, an intendedrecipient address, and an image located on the item, the imagecorresponding to an alternative service for undeliverable items, theimage comprising an instruction section and a procedure section;receiving, by the sorting equipment, an indication that the item cannotbe delivered to an intended recipient at the intended recipient address;detecting, by the sorting equipment, the image present on the item; andperforming the corresponding alternative service.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the alternative service comprises at least one of thefollowing: a recycling service, a service, and a computerized forwardingservice.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the recycling servicecomprises treating the item as waste.
 4. The method of claim 2, whereinthe service comprises at least one of the following: an addresscorrection service and a return service.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein the computerized forwarding service comprises: notifying adelivery system operator of an alternative address; re-labeling the itemwith the alternative address; and sending the item through the deliverysystem to the alternative address.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprisingprocessing mailpieces addressed to the recipient at a first address. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the instruction section comprises asymbol which indicates the alternative service.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the procedure section comprises at least one proceduredefining the alternative service.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising placing the image on the item by a sender.
 10. A system forproviding alternative services, comprising: a delivery system configuredto deliver an item to a first address plant, the item comprising anintended recipient address and an image located on the item, the imagecorresponding to an alternative service for undeliverable items, theimage comprising an instruction section and a procedure section; sortingequipment for detecting when the item cannot be delivered to a recipientat the intended recipient address; a component for detecting thepresence on the item of the image corresponding to the alternativeservice for undeliverable items; and a component for performing thealternative service corresponding to the image on the item.
 11. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein the alternative, service comprises at leastone of the following: a recycling service, a service, and a computerizedforwarding service.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the recyclingservice comprises a component for treating the item as waste.
 13. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the service comprises at least one of thefollowing: an address correction service and a return service.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the computerized forwarding servicecomprises: a component for receiving notification of an alternativeaddress; a component for re-labeling the item with the alternativeaddress; and a component for sending the item through the deliverysystem to the alternative address.
 15. The system of claim 10, whereinthe item comprises a mailpiece.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein theinstruction section comprises a symbol which indicates the ancillaryalternative service.
 17. The system of claim 10, wherein the proceduresection comprises a set of procedures defining the ancillary alternativeservice.
 18. The system of claim 10 further comprising a component forplacing the image on the item by a sender.
 19. A method for providingalternative services including at least one of a recycling service, aservice, and a computerized forwarding service, the method comprising:receiving, by sorting equipment, a mailpiece from a sender addressed toa recipient at a first address, the mailpiece comprising an imagelocated on the mailpiece, the image comprising an instruction sectionand a procedure section, the instruction section comprising a symbolspecifying an ancillary alternative service for undeliverable items, theprocedure section comprising a set of procedures defining the specifiedancillary alternative service; receiving, by the sorting equipment, anindication that the item cannot be delivered to the recipient at a firstaddress; and performing the ancillary alternative service specified bythe image; wherein: the recycling service comprises treating the item aswaste, the service comprises at least one of an address correctionservice and a return service, and the computerized forwarding servicecomprises the steps of: receiving notification of an alternativeaddress, re-labeling the item with the alternative address, and sendingthe item to the alternative address.